Not With Haste
by Ohori
Summary: Your eyes they tie me down so hard, I'll never learn to put up a guard. So keep my love, my candle bright, learn me hard, oh learn me right.
1. Chapter 1

I do not own MIOBI; if I did, things would have been a lot different.

I also have no beta, so all mistakes are mine :(

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxX

He was getting better, he was sure of it. Not that Sasha counted because then that would be strange. Counting the number of times he involuntarily searched for Payson in the gym would be stranger than the overpowering need he felt to watch her. He tried to convince himself that he watched her from a purely coaching perspective. After all, she was his best gymnast, the best chance to win overall gold, plus a chance to win a few more in the individual all-around, so it only made sense that he kept an eye on her more so than some of the other girls, he just needed to make sure that she wasn't having any trouble with her new routines, that she didn't need his help.

That's what he told himself anyway. He watched her as any coach would watch his or her athlete. He needed to believe that because the alternative was a road he couldn't go down. He couldn't let himself think that maybe he watched Payson the way a man watched a woman. He needed to believe that his gaze lingered on her legs because he had to make sure she was extending on all her positions during her new floor routine. He couldn't let himself contemplate that the reason he watched her long legs was because he wondered what those legs would feel like wrapped around his waist.

He couldn't, so he wouldn't. It was as simple as that.

But he was getting better, he hadn't look in her direction for at least -

Damn it, he swore silently, he had been watching her this whole time.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx X

Payson sat on the mat next to Lauren and Kaylie. She had been so distracted trying not to get caught watching Sasha (she didn't needed to endure any more childish gossip) that she missed the beginning of whatever Lauren was talking about. Although knowing Lauren, the topic of conversation was probably Lauren.

"...Carter is so amazing, our relationship is so intense, it's like, you know, the kind of love where you just want the guy to fuck you against a wall," Lauren practically purred.

"I must have missed that verse in Elizabeth Barrett Browning's poem. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height. I love thee enough to let you...bang me against a wall." Payson responded completely deadpan.

"Oh my god Payson, you are such a child. You can't even say 'fuck'," Lauren laughed in her most condescending tone, which was saying a lot as Lauren excelled at being condescending.

"Sorry if my vocabulary isn't as varied as yours."

"Come on Payson, you are such a prude, say it, say fuck," Lauren taunted, laying extra emphasis on the 'k' sound in the word. "God, I don't know why I bother, we all know sweet virginal Payson couldn't even imagine fucking someone, let alone say the word." Lauren finished, employing her second favourite tone: haughty bitch.

Payson was officially done with this conversation, "Well, I'd love to stay here and listen to you being crude but I have to work on my bar routine."

Payson ignored the soft laughter coming from Lauren and walked over to the chalk bowl. While she had been planning to work on her floor routine next, she needed an excuse to get away from Lauren and pretending to work on bars was the best excuse she could think of at the time. So what, she didn't say the word 'fuck', that didn't mean anything. And so what if she was still a virgin, better a virgin than a slut who sleeps with other people's boyfriends. So what if everyone else thought that she was boring. She was quiet, pleasant, and obeyed all the rules (except for the one about not kissing your coach, because that seemed less like a rule and more of a suggestion). Payson continue to fume quietly near the chalk bowl unaware of the pair of eyes watching her.

To the casual observer Payson looked, as always, as the epitome of calm and poise. No one would know that her heart was pounding furiously or that she was perilously close to screaming, so it was a good thing that Sasha was not a casual observer.

Despite berating himself only minutes earlier about how he needed to stay away from Payson, Sasha was like a moth to a flame or any other horribly unoriginal cliché. He was simple drawn to her, his feet already on a path towards her before conscious thought entered his brain.

"I thought you were going to work on floor after break."

"I was. I am. I just needed to get away from Lauren. Sometimes she's just too much. She's like Pokey the Bear. Smokey's less helpful, more annoying brother."

Sasha fought the smirk that threatened to break across his face, while Payson's comment was funny (and accurate) as their coach, he needed to stay neutral and not show favouritism.

"Payson," he softly admonished her.

"I know, I know. At least I didn't say it to her face."

"Hurray for small miracles. Now stop thinking about Lauren and focus. Play around on the bars for a little while to clear your head, but after break we work on floor."

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX 

As Payson ran through her floor routine, she couldn't help but think about how she had returned to the scene of the crime. The Kiss. It was either the worst decision of her life or the best. She still wasn't sure.

After the video had been leaked and Sasha had left she was sure that her decision, no matter how impulsive and wonderful, was the worst moment of her life, then when he returned to The Rock and it appeared as though things would return to normal she regretted nothing. In fact, she replayed the kiss, no matter how fleeting, over and over again in her head.

Now she wasn't sure how she felt. She felt stuck in a strange holding pattern. Sasha and she couldn't go back to the way things were, the kiss had happened and there was no way to disperse the air of awkwardness surrounding them. But at the same time they couldn't move forward either. In any other situation when two friends kissed a discussion would be had, should be had, a discussion about whether or not their friendship should move forward, whether or not the kiss had meant something or was just a temporary moment of insanity. However, most friendships weren't clouded by a 13 year age difference and the strange dynamic of a coach slash athlete muddying the waters.

So a discussion was never had about progressing from friendship to a romantic relationship, it couldn't be had. Payson knew that any conversation at this point would be pushing it too soon. She was only 17 years old, still seen as a child by many. Not that Payson hadn't been a mini adult since she was 5 years old. Payson had never had the normal acting-out teenage years; she had been too busy devoting her life to gymnastics. Her goal was to go to the Olympics and win gold. A goal that only Sasha Belov could help her achieve. Which was partly why she needed to iron out her relationship with Sasha. How could she win gold if they weren't on the same page? She needed Sasha, while she may want Sasha in her life personally; she needed him as her coach professionally. As great as Marty had been as her coach, Sasha had gotten more out of her gymnastics in the months that they had spent together than the years she had spent training under Marty.

It was just too confusing. Were her feelings real or simply the only outlet she could think of to express her feelings of gratitude to Sasha? Did Sasha feel the same? Did he feel _anything_?

If Lauren were in the same situation as Payson found herself in now, knowing Lauren, she would have showed up at the Airstream in the middle of the night in some Victoria Secret number and thrown herself at Sasha.

Payson couldn't imagine in a million years having the confidence to be so sexually forward.

God, maybe Lauren was right (that was a scary thought) maybe she was a prude.

But Payson wasn't like Lauren. Lauren had a wide smile, gorgeous blonde hair (unlike Payson's own dull blonde locks), shining seductive eyes, an infectious laugh, and a curvy body that drew male attention. In comparison to Lauren, Payson faded into the background, which was precisely how Payson had liked it. Until now. She didn't want to be a prude. She wanted Sasha to look at her, really _look_ at her. She wanted to feel sexy and desired. She just didn't know how to go about achieving that. Sometimes she just felt so awkward in her own skin.

Was this always going to be her life? Shying away from things that made her feel uncomfortable?

God, she wished she had just an ounce of Lauren's confidence.

That was another depressing thought. She wasn't even as brave as Lauren.

No, she could do this. She could. If she could throw herself in the air, launching and twisting her body in loops and rotations at the risk of permanent injury then surely she could handle attracting a man.

Even if that man was Sasha.

She could do it. But she had to be smart and careful. So she would wait, wait until she was 18. Her birthday was only a few weeks away. Even though the legal age of consent in Colorado was 17, most people were more comfortable viewing 18 as being the mark from teenager to adulthood.

So she would wait until then, but after that day, all bets were off.

TBC…..

This is my first story for this pairing (I usually write West Wing Josh/Donna stories) so I am a little nervous. I have outlined the whole thing, but as I am currently working on two other stories if there is no interest in this then I won't post any more…let me know what you think :)


	2. Chapter 2

I still do not own MIOBI; if I did, things would have been a lot different.

I also have no beta, so all mistakes are mine :)

XxxxxxxxxxxX

_Though I may speak some tongue of old  
Or even spit out some holy word  
I have no strength from which to speak  
When you sit me down, and see I'm weak_

_Not With Haste_

_Mumford & Sons_

XxxxxxxxxxxX

3 weeks later…

Payson, Kaylie, and Lauren sat on the floor mats going through their stretches waiting for the rest of the national team to arrive before they could begin practice. Payson, as nonchalant as possible, peered up into Sasha's office, wondering if he was going to come out on the floor to watch or stay in his office and ignore the practice altogether.

"I hate these practices for the national team. I can't stand that psycho Ellen Beals, plus we have to put up with Queen Bee Kelly Parker. She is such a bitch. She's thinks she is so much better than everyone else, like the world revolves around her. I can't stand people like that," Lauren complained.

"You can't stand people who think the world revolves around them? You sure about that, _pot_?" Kaylie asked incredulously.

"I wouldn't talk there, _kettle_. You are not exactly the most selfless person either," Lauren fired back.

"Stop it! This is exactly what they want, us fighting amongst ourselves. They know that we can be beaten when we are not on the same page. We need to stick together. There's no one in the world better than us when we have each other's backs." Payson explained patiently to her teammates.

"Payson's right, Lauren. We need to stick together." Kaylie said.

"Fine. Besides it's not like Kelly Parker is that great anyway. I mean, yeah, she might be smarter or more talented or more attractive than you Kaylie, but deep down inside she's probably, like, really sad or something."

"That's the spirit, Lauren," Payson drawled, voice dripping with sarcasm. _This was going to be a horrendous day._

Unable to stand the bickering between her teammates, Payson decided to go see if Sasha was going to come out of his office today. As she climbed the stairs, Payson looked down over the gym. She could see Lauren and Kaylie continue to snark back and forth at each other. Ellen Beals was in the corner obviously saying something obnoxious to one of the national team girls, and Kelly Parker had the worst kind of shit disturbing smile on her face. When she reached the top of the stairs, she stood in the entrance way before knocking on Sasha's office. She really didn't want to be here today. She wondered if she could 'accidently' trip down the stairs and twist her ankle just enough to get out of practice or, maybe she thought, as she leaned over the railing and looked over the edge, maybe she could throw herself over the side and just keep on running.

"Too far to jump, I think, you might actually really hurt yourself," Sasha said conspiratorially.

"I wasn't really going to jump," she explained.

"I know, but you can't get out of this, so head back down to the floor. Think about it this way: the fastest you start, the fastest it will be over."

"Wow, thanks for those great words of encouragement, coach," she responded in her most patronizing tone.

"Stop being cheeky and get your ass out there," Sasha said and then went back into his office.

XxxxxxxxxxxX

Later that day

"Argh!" Payson spat out in annoyance. She had missed her connection before her final tumbling pass.

Again.

Practice had been as horrible as Payson thought it would be. Ellen Beals had continued to exert her influence from the NGO and make life for the Rock girls difficult. It was hours of torture, but now it was over and Payson had stayed behind to work one-on-one with Sasha on her floor routine.

"Payson, focus. You had this down weeks ago. What happened -" Sasha cut himself short because he knew what had happened: a beautiful 17 year-old girl had kissed him and he had run away like a child, that's what had happened.

Involuntarily their eyes locked, the air in the gym changed in an instant, an electric current shot between the pair.

Finally Payson broke the silence. "Well, I can't focus with you yelling, 'extension, Payson', 'watch your angles, Payson,' it's too distracting."

"Are you telling me to shut up?" He smiled slowly.

"Yes, but in the nicest way possible."

"Ha. Did you ever think that this was all a part of my coaching plan? Get you so angry that you perform your floor routine with passion and emotion?"

"Please," she huffed inelegantly, "You didn't have a plan."

"No," he conceded, "but if I did, that would have been part of it."

The pair fell into an awkward silence.

_Well, it was now or never_, thought Payson, _time to put part one of the plan into action_.

"Sasha," she started, a small hitch in her voice (_confidence_ Payson, _you need to speak with confidence_, she chided herself). She started again, "Sasha, we need to talk about what happened. We need to talk about the kiss."

Sasha froze in place; he schooled his features into an emotional less mask. "Payson, we have already been over this. The relationship between a coach and-"

"Yes, I know, there's nothing more intimate than the relationship between a coach and a gymnast, but," she faltered before taking in a giant gulp of air before continuing, "the thing is, when I kissed you," a soft blush spread across her cheeks, "before you pushed me away, you," (_take a minute_ Payson, _you can do this _she told herself). "You pulled me closer, and for a second, for a second you were kissing me back." She slowly raised her head to look Sasha in the eyes.

Sasha felt relieved? If that was the right word for it. He had felt guilty for too long. He had wondered when she would bring this up, **_if_** she would bring this up. He had decided if they ever had this conversation he wouldn't deny it, he wouldn't embarrass her like that, make her believe it was all in her head. He would take responsibility for his actions.

"Yes, I kissed you back."

His admission was a declaration of guilt. The first step in a series of penances he felt he owed Payson.

He wished he could stop thinking about her. Ever since the day he had met her, his thoughts were filled with her, but he was in control during the day. He could focus his thoughts with enough effort and concentration and think about things that didn't involve Payson Keeler. The real problem was at night. It was the dreams. The dreams plagued him. They felt like a violation of their relationship, the special bond between a coach and his athlete, but he was powerless to stop them. They happened every night without fail. It didn't matter if he drank himself into a stupor, the dreams still came. It didn't matter if he took sleeping pills; if anything the dreams seemed more vivid that way. How could he face her every day, coach her when in his dreams she was an outlet for his desires. It didn't matter what he did the dreams happened every night: dreams of him hovering over her, beneath her, behind her…

Every time he saw her, he was afraid that she would guess or that somehow it was written on his face and she would know the truth. How could she not know the effect she had on him. How could she go through life not realizing how seductive and alluring she was?

While Sasha chastised himself, Payson was shocked by his admission. Even though she knew it was true, (he had kissed her back), she had expected Sasha to deny it. But instead he had looked her straight in the eyes and had told the truth. There was also a look in his eyes, one that was familiar to her as she had seen it reflected back at her in the mirror countless times. It was a look of uncertainty, a look of… longing. Could Sasha actually be as confused about his feelings as she was about hers? Was it possible? For some reason the idea that he was uncertain about what was happening between them gave her a boost of confidence. If suave, worldly, I've-been-with-hundreds-of –women Sasha Belov was confused about plain, prudish Payson Keeler then maybe she did have a chance after all.

"So, I kissed you and you kissed me back. I think, I think that means something."

"Payson," he began, but she never gave him a chance to finish.

"Wait, I know you think I kissed you because you're my coach, but the thing is Marty was my coach for a long time and I never once in all the time I spent with him ever thought about kissing him. I kissed you Sasha because I wanted to, not because you're my coach and the fact that you kissed me back had nothing to do with me being your gymnast. That's why I think this thing between us means something."

"I know that you think it does, Payson, but the problem is you have no point of reference for your feelings. You're too young." Sasha explained evenly.

"Why? Because I'm 17? I'll be 18 in 2 weeks. I'll be old enough to vote. I've been considered responsible enough to decide to forgo a quote-un-quote 'normal childhood' to train for the Olympics since I was a 7 but I'm not adult enough to know who I want to date? Who I want to kiss?"

"The issue here isn't your age, Payson, although that is a real concern. It is that you have no experience outside this gym, and before you interrupt, the short time you spent in high school doesn't count. The fact is you can't possibly know how you feel about me when I'm really the only man you interact with."

"So you're saying I have some sort of Stockholm Syndrome? My feeling aren't real, they are just a product of the confined environment I spend my time with you in? That's pretty insulting, Sasha. I'm not your hostage."

"Payson, I believe that you believe that your feelings are real," he broke off abruptly, obviously frustrated with the conversation. "How can I get you to understand? It's like when you were a child and the only thing you ever wanted to eat for lunch was peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, because the child version of you thought they were the greatest thing in the world, but as you grew up you were exposed to different kind of foods, your sense of tasted developed and you realized that….that sushi was amazing and now the thought of eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches has no appeal, but when you were a child they seemed great because you never knew other kinds of food existed," he explained evenly.

"That was a really lovely analogy, but I am a little confused. Are you the peanut butter and jelly sandwich or the sushi?" she asked sarcastically.

"Payson, my point is that you Rock girls live in a bubble, a boy free bubble, you have no experience to draw on, which is why you think you feel something for me."

Suddenly the light bulb flicked on in Payson's head. It was all so clear now.

"So all I need is more experience, once I have that and I still feel the same way you'll have to believe that my feelings are real and not just a figment of overactive teenage imagination," she finished drily.

"I'm sorry. What are you talking about?" A confused Sasha asked.

"I need to date, I need to date other men in order to have more experience," she explained patiently.

**_No_**, the word came screaming into Sasha's head. No. She had touched him, kissed him. He didn't want her dating other men. Unfair of him, absolutely. Did he give a damn, no.

He needed a moment before he could speak; he couldn't give away how much the thought of her dating bothered him.

"Payson, there is a no dating rule."

"Please. Lauren and Carter. Austin and Kaylie. Everyone is dating except me."

_And that's the way I like it_, thought Sasha.

"Payson, you need to focus, the Olympics are only a year away."

"I'm not talking about marriage, Sasha, just some dates. It's not like guys are lining up at my door anyway. But I could probably talk to Heather and see if she knows anyone who'd want to go out with me."

Sasha was amazed that Payson couldn't see how beautiful she was. Yes, the boys in the gym flocked to Lauren, but that was because she was so…obvious, so overt with her sexuality. Payson possessed a subtle, elegant beauty that teenage boys simply couldn't appreciate. She needed someone older, someone who could appreciate the passion and dedication she brought to life. Someone like…him?

Was he crazy? Probably.

Could he let her date? What if she actually found someone? Could he be happy for her? In theory, yes. In actuality, definitely not.

But he couldn't have it both ways. He couldn't stay away from her yet deny her the chance to find love with someone else. He couldn't be that much of an asshole. But what is she dated and she still wanted him? Was he prepared for that? Could he be selfish enough to start a relationship with her? What if her feelings were real? Well, the only way to found out was to agree to her plan.

"Okay." Sasha finally conceded.

"Okay? Really?" Payson asked, practically bouncing.

"Yes, but you will have to get your parent's permission. I won't have you lying to them. And I expect the same level of dedication to your gymnastics. The moment I think you are slacking off, the deal is over, do you understand?"

"Yes, of course. Thank you. So what time frame should we put on this? A month of dating? If after a month of dating my feelings for you haven't gone away we have a real discussion about us."

"Three months," he replied. _Why are you prolonging your misery_, he thought, _you can't handle her dating other men for three months_.

"Two months," she countered.

"Fine. Two months." He turned to walk away. He needed some time alone to think about what in the hell he had just agreed to.

"Sasha," she called after him, "you think that my lack of experience is clouding my judgment and that is why I kissed you. Yet, you have tons of experience with women, but you still kissed me back, so you must have had another reason," she asked tentatively.

"Yes, I guess I must have." He said and walked out of the gym.

TBC…

Thank you for the kind reviews (Slrmn82, popetreturns, renae, Emmy, KatnissEverdeenTheGirlOnFire 12, Nathascha, and Cole87). I hope I am doing the characters justice. If not, please let me know. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. I have a very busy week at work coming up, so it might take a little while for the next chapter to be posted.


	3. Chapter 3

I still do not own MIOBI.

I also have no beta, so all mistakes are mine :)

Author's note: I know that I am distorting canon events, using characters in my story that shouldn't still be around, but I think it's my right as a lowly writer to change things to suit my story's needs.

XxxxxxxxxxxX

_We will run and scream  
You will dance with me  
They'll fulfill our dreams and we'll be free_

And we will be who we are  
And they'll heal our scars  
Sadness will be far away

_Not With Haste_

_Mumford & Sons_

XxxxxxxxxxX

She understood the principles behind flirting, she really did. She wasn't Amish nor did she live in the 18th century, no, the problem was her. Payson simple couldn't flirt. It felt forced and unnatural. She didn't giggle. She was an elite athlete; there was no place for giggling as a gymnast. No, a giggle had never escaped from Payson's lips. And she definitely had never simpered in her life. What did that even mean? To simper?

"Oh, Carter." Lauren said, while she playfully smacked his arm.

Well, Lauren apparently had no problem simpering.

_You got to to try, Payson_, she reminded herself.

She could do this. What was Kaylie doing with her eyes? Payson could do that. Payson could bat her eyes. If she could do a Yurchenko with a twist, then she could certainty flutter her eyelashes.

"Payson? Are you okay? What's wrong with your eyes?" Nicky asked, voice laced with concern.

_Damn it_, well that was enough with the flirting. "Um, I think I have something in my eye, trying to flush it out." Payson replied.

This just made the whole situation so much more awkward for Payson. She had been going out on group dates with Lauren, Carter, Kaylie, Austin, and Nicky for the last couple of weeks now and while it was fun to goof around a bit, she definitely had not mastered flirting yet. She could place the blame on Nicky, say he didn't inspire flirty type behaviour, but the truth of the matter was she didn't even flirt with Sasha, who she had actually feelings for, so Payson couldn't blame the men that surrounded her.

Oh no, the problem was 100 per cent her.

Nicky wasn't really that bad to hang out with either, sure, he was as exciting as watching paint dry, but that didn't make him a bad person, in fact, he could probably end up being a pretty good friend, except Payson got the feeling that Nicky wanted to be more than friends with her, which was her fault because at one time she had encouraged his attentions.

However, there was at least one positive from this situation. The best thing that had come out of these group dates was that Payson had discovered something very important. Nothing that Nicky did garnered anything more than a pleasant feeling that any woman would feel when receiving flattering attention from a handsome man. There were no butterflies, no tightening of her stomach, no blood flickering through her veins. The sense of relief was almost palpable.

The one thing that had been bothering Payson, the one thing that was stuck in the back of her mind was what if Sasha was right. Could her attraction to him be based solely on her lack of dating experience? But her reaction, or rather lack of one, to Nicky proved that what she was feeling for Sasha was based in reality. Because Sasha made her feel butterflies, he made her stomach tighten; he made the blood course through her veins.

Payson was so distracted by thoughts of Sasha that she didn't even realize that she had zoned out of the conversation completely.

"Earth to Payson. Are you still with us?" Kaylie asked, while waving a hand in front of Payson's face.

"Oh, sorry guys, but, ah, I just remembered that I have to go. I, ah, promised my mom that I would look after Becca tonight. Sorry."

Payson didn't even wait for the table to acknowledge her statement; she just grabbed her coat, purse, takeout container and left the Pizza Shack.

As though on autopilot, Payson found that instead of driving towards her house, the car was making its way to The Rock. She didn't even realize what she had done until she drove up beside the Airstream to see Sasha sitting on his patio chair, eating a bowl of cereal.

Sasha gave a small wave to Payson, surprised, but not unhappy to see her. Payson exited her car and plopped down in the lounge chair next to Sasha.

"Hi."

"Hi. What brings you here on a Friday night at, oh, 9:17?"

"I was on a date, or a group date, I guess you could say, as there wasn't just one guy."

"When I said you should date, I didn't mean you should date a group of men at a time."

A soft blush covered Payson's cheeks. She gave a little cough before speaking. "I was only on a date with one guy, there just so happened to be other guys there who were also on dates with other girls who were not me."

"Payson, I was just joking. I may be old but I do know what a group date is."

"Oh." She stammered, then remembered what she had in her hands. "I got you something," Payson stated proudly. She pulled out the take out container with two extra slices of pizza. "It's not much but I figured it is a lot better than eating cereal again."

Sasha felt a lump in his throat. "You don't have to do that Payson. It's not your job to make sure I eat right."

"I know, but you're my friend and friends look out for one another," Payson paused, stuck by an uneasy feeling, "I'm mean, you are my friend…right?"

"There are a lot of people who think that we shouldn't be friends." Sasha explained softly.

"Yeah, well, a lot of people are wrong about a lot of things, people think the world is going to end in 2012, people still think that Elvis is still alive, so there's no point in listening to people is there?" Payson said with more confidence than she was currently feeling.

Sasha went silent, lost in his thoughts. Here was the problem. _He liked her_. And he hated how much he liked her. He had been with a lot of women in his life, he wasn't ashamed of that per say, but what he first realized when he began hanging out with Payson was not only was he attracted to her (which was a whole different kettle of self-loathing fish) he actually liked her as a person. He couldn't remember actually liking any of the women he had been with in the past. Maybe that made him a horrible guy, sleeping with women he didn't like, but it was the truth.

He knew what he _should_ do. What society said he should do. Walk away. Walk away from Payson. Let her find a guy her own age. A guy who was more socially acceptable. But he couldn't stop thinking _what if_. What if this other hypothetical guy didn't appreciate her? What if he looked at her and only saw a pretty blonde with a good figure and too much to say? What if he thought she was too sarcastic and urged her to keep her thoughts to herself? What if he used her body and gave her no pleasure in return. What if he ignored her? What if he didn't realize how special she was?

I _wouldn't do any of that_, the thought popped into his head. _If Payson were mine I would treat her well. I could love her._

Sasha violently shook his head, giving up on his own half-mad self-argument, and finally answered Payson's question. "No, there is absolutely no point in listening to other people." He smirked. "So, friend, will you join me while I eat this delicious pizza?"

"Sure." Payson replied shyly, maybe that was as close to flirting as she would ever get, a shy blush indicating nervousness. Well, it was a hell of a lot better than a giggle or a simper Payson thought.

Payson sat next to Sasha while he ate the pizza. They ate in silence for a while, and then talked about the day's events.

"So why don't you ever go on any dates?" Payson asked suddenly.

"Um, I'm been pretty busy; I have a couple of gymnasts to train so they will win Olympic gold, in case you didn't notice."

"I did in fact notice that," she said as she poked him in the side, "You practically live at The Rock. Do you ever go out?"

"All the time. I go to the grocery store to buy more cereal, my supply is not unending…."

"Stop. You know what I mean. Do you ever, you know, go out on dates?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"I just think that if I'm being forced to date then it's not really fair if you are just sitting around the Airstream all alone."

"I'm not alone now, you're with me."

"You know what I mean, Sasha," Payson huffed.

"Look, Payson, the only reason you are going out on dates is because you think you need more dating experience before I'll, um, believe you know what you want. I don't need to do that."

"Why?"

"Because I already know what I want."

"Which is?"

"Right now? More of this pizza."

Payson knew not to push anymore, she wasn't going to get anything else out of Sasha tonight, but she had the feeling that the two of them were on the same page.

XxxxxxxxxxxX

As the weeks went by a new routine was formed. Payson would go out on these group dates, but before she went home for the night, she would swing by The Rock to talk and eat leftovers with Sasha.

"How was it?" Sasha asked.

"Not as awful as usual. Nicky is a nice guy but he has like, no personality."

"That's too bad." Sasha replied, although he sounded less than sincere.

Payson handed over a take-out container. "Here, have the rest of my chicken and vegetables."

Sasha grumbled a little bit. "I like it better when you bring me back pizza."

Payson only offered a scowl in return.

Despite Sasha's sarcastic demeanour, tonight was going to be a good night; Payson felt it in her bones. She felt safe and comfortable when she was with Sasha. She still felt the butterflies, but now instead of being overwhelming and consumed, they felt like a gentle warmth throughout her body. Like a comfy blanket. She was starting to fall and fall hard. And she had the feeling that the same thing was happening to Sasha. She'd begun eagerly anticipating her dates because that meant she would also see Sasha that night. She was craving her time with him.

"You're staring," he pointed out, his voice tight.

"Does that bother you?"

His tongue flicked out, swiping at some sauce from the chicken that was on his lips. "No."

"I don't want to hurt you," Sasha continued abruptly.

"I know."

"I'm sorry," he choked out.

Before Payson could ask what he was sorry about Sasha was kissing her. His lips pressed against hers, lingering for one second, then two, as though testing her reaction. When she made no protest, no attempt to push him away, his tongue flicked out, and she eagerly opened for him. Their tongues thrust together, and this kiss was so much better than the first one, the one she had taken when she shouldn't have. He went slowly at first, coaxing her, but she didn't need coaxing, she needed more. She just needed Sasha.

He increased the pressure, the speed, and forced her head to tilt, giving himself deeper access, dominating her mouth, branding her, consuming her. Payson loved every second of it. He was here, and he was hers and this was beautiful.

His hand slid underneath her shoulders, angled up and cupped the nape of her neck. The rough texture of his callused skin tickled her. He massaged the muscles there, drawing a moan of pleasure from her. Then his hand moved lower, his time towards her breast. A place that had never been touched by a man before. Payson involuntarily tensed, not sure if she was ready for this next step.

Sasha must have felt the tension in her body because he jerked his hand back.

Payson gasped for air, her finger touching her tingling lips. "Sasha," she said. She might not be ready for it all, but that didn't mean the kissing had to end. She started to speak again but stopped. How do you tell a man you want to kiss him, but you don't want to do anything else with him?

At least, not yet.

"When are you expected home?" He asked abruptly.

"Right now," she said, taking a peek at her watch.

"You should go then."

"Sasha," she started. She got the feeling she was being dismissed and she didn't like it at all.

"You need to go home, Payson," he paused before continuing. "Do you have a date tomorrow night?"

"No," she relied slowly.

"Good, cause I was thinking that to be fair, if you are dating other people maybe you and I should go on a date. Just for comparison purposes of course."

A large smile threatened to break across Payson's face, but she answered as calm as possible. "Well, in the interest of fairness we should probably go out."

"Okay, see you tomorrow then."

"Good night, Sasha."

"Good night, Payson."

TBC...

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Thank you for the kind reviews (poppetlurking, Peacelover56, Eloise, nicole8700, cole87, and Guest - whomever you are). Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own MIOBI

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_So as we walked through fields of green  
Was the fairest sun I'd ever seen  
And I was broke, I was on my knees  
And you said yes as I said please_

_Not with Haste_

_Mumford and Sons_

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The amount of time she had spent trying to pick out an outfit was ridiculous. On a scale of ridiculousness, it was as ridiculous as a baby monkey riding backwards on a pig level – okay, so she was too frazzled to think of anything else that was ridiculous – but, it was up there, like at the top of the scale.

Plus it wasn't like he had never seen her in a dress before (at the Rocky Awards, the first time at the ballet), God, he saw her practically naked in her leotard everyday so she had no idea what she was so nervous about.

No, that was a lie. She knew. She was nervous because this was a date. Their first date (hopefully things would go well tonight and there would be many more dates with Sasha.) Obviously she wanted to look good, maybe even sexy. _No, better to keep expectations realistic_, Payson thought. She was many things (athletic, toned, etc...) but sexy wasn't one of them.

Payson pulled off the pink dress she was currently wearing. 'Argh, too pink, too cutesy, too girly,' she said to her empty room.

She wished she could have borrowed a dress from Kaylie, but there would have been too many questions she couldn't answer like, _Why was she borrowing a dress? Where was she going? Who was she going with?_

For obvious reasons her date with Sasha was a secret. Although her mom knew that they were going out, (Sasha refused to outright lie to Kim, he did, however, feel comfortable with a lie of omission, and thankfully Payson's dad was in Minnesota so they didn't have to deal with that issue) Kim Keeler thought Sasha was taking Payson to the ballet again, which was true, but this time Sasha wasn't escorting Payson as her coach, but as her date.

Payson frantically searched through her closet, hoping maybe the dress fairy had come by while she was in the shower and had left a present. Payson rummaged through her clothes, but alas, no gift from the dress fairy. Taking a peek at the time, Payson realized that Sasha would be at her house in 5 minutes, and all she was wearing was her bra and panties.

With a large exasperated sigh, Payson reached into her closet and grabbed a simple black dress. _You can't go wrong with black, right? _Payson slipped the dress on over her head at the same time the door bell rang. Quickly she smoothed down her hair – she had decided to wear it loose, as Sasha was used to seeing it tied up in a bun everyday – grabbed her purse, and went down the stairs to meet her date.

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Even though she knew he would be dressed in a suit (he had the last time they had gone to the ballet), Payson still wasn't prepared for how unbelievably handsome Sasha was. Payson fidgeted with the hem of her dress, she felt a small chill of anxiety run through her body. Sasha was so striking, so attractive and she was…not those things.

Sasha was used to dating models, some of the most gorgeous women in the world, so what in the world was he doing taking her out on a date? It made no sense.

_Stop trying to sabotage yourself,_ a little voice inside Payson's head screamed at her. _He chose you. He's going out with you. Stop over thinking it._

Payson took a moment to calm herself before saying hello to Sasha.

"See, this is why people think video games are such a bad influence. Who did you Grand Theft Auto that car from?" Payson asked, gesturing to the slick black town car.

"I'll have you know that I legally rented this vehicle." Sasha replied indigently.

"Why? What happened to your truck?"

"Nothing happened to my truck. It just didn't seem appropriate for tonight."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we're going to the ballet, I'm in a suit, which can I say that I have been in a suit more times in the last year than I can remember and all those times have been your fault," he smiled to take the barb out of his words. "Anyway, I knew you would be wearing a dress, looking amazing, and you do by the way, you look amazing, and I thought you deserved better than my beat-up truck."

Payson was momentarily speechless, touched that Sasha had obviously put some thought into their date.

"Well we better get going or we're going to miss the opening curtain."

Sasha walked over to the passenger's side door and opened it. He gestured for Payson to get into the car. Sasha gently took Payson hand and helped her into the rented vehicle. The moment Payson felt Sasha's skin make contact with hers, a jolt of energy shot up her arm into her chest. If Sasha could cause such a shock of awareness with one touch of his hand, Payson wasn't sure if she could handle more than that tonight, but she was looking forward to trying.

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Sasha became aware of a few things the moment he laid eyes on Payson tonight, things that he had subconsciously known for a while, but now had jumped to the front of his consciousness.

The first thing, Payson was naturally seductive. Maybe it was the years of gymnastics that had forced elegance and grace into her life, or maybe it was a God given gift, he wasn't sure and frankly didn't care because the result was the same. Payson walked towards him in that little black dress with a gentle sway to her hips and a toss of her beautiful blonde hair. If it had been any other woman walking towards him like that he would have been sure she was laying the groundwork for a plan of seduction. But with Payson, she was so innocent and somehow unaware of how breathtaking she was that the feminine power and energy radiating from her was simply a natural seductive part of her nature. A part of her that Payson was unaware of, but was currently plaguing Sasha.

The next thing that was abundantly clear to Sasha was that Payson was naturally alluring. The moment they walked up the stairs to the ballet, all male heads (the poor men that had been dragged to the ballet by their wives, girlfriends, or daughters) turned in her direction. She wasn't trying to catch their attention, in fact, Sasha was pretty sure Payson was talking to herself. Sasha leaned in closer to Payson so he could hear what she was saying. Payson was mumbling something, he thought he caught the word 'ridiculous' and then something about a baby monkey but he wasn't sure, not that it mattered because he was so far gone that he found her mumbling attractive.

And it wasn't just the incoherent mumbles that set his blood racing; it was the warmth of her skin, even thru his jacket, as she softly placed her hand on his arm. It was the smell of lilacs from the shampoo that overwhelmed his senses. He needed to get himself under control. In the past, he thought about all the reasons why he couldn't be with Payson and he had come up with 47. There were so many reasons why he couldn't kiss her again, could never taste her, could never strip her bare and lay her down on his bed and –

"Sasha? You kinda zoned out for a minute there, are you okay?" Payson asked.

And when Payson turned those shimmering eyes and innocent, yet sexy, pout towards him, he couldn't remember a single reason not to be with her.

"I'm fine; everything is fine."

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Payson had greatly enjoyed the ballet, this time probably more than her previous experience with Sasha because this time she was open to the experience and could appreciate the power and beauty in each pirouette the dancers performed. Now that the ballet was over, Payson sat in the passenger seat feeling a mixture of emotions: happy that the date was going well, yet nervous that it was coming to an end.

Would he kiss her goodnight? Could he even kiss her since he was dropping her off at her house and her mother was at home?

God, maybe he didn't even want to kiss her good night. He hadn't made any affectionate gestures at the ballet, no holding her hand, no intimate brushes against her arms – but Sasha wasn't a demonstrative person, so it made sense that he hadn't had tried anything right? Right?

So lost in her own mind was Payson that she was startled by Sasha's voice.

"What?" She asked him to repeat what he had said.

"I said, what time do you have to be home?"

Payson took a peek at the clock on the car's dashboard before responding, "Not for another hour."

"Oh, then did you maybe want to go for dessert somewhere or, um, you could come back to the Airstream for some tea."

"Yeah, tea sounds great."

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Sasha parked beside his truck and jogged around to open the car door for Payson.

"You know, I don't think I've ever been in the Airstream before," Payson commented.

"Well, be prepared to be amazed," Sasha replied sarcastically.

Sasha unlocked the door and Payson followed up the stairs to take a look around, "Huh, it's different than I thought, bigger too."

"I know bigger on the inside than it looks on the outside."

"Like the TARDIS," Payson laughed.

Sasha spun around to look at Payson, "Did you just make a Doctor Who joke?"

"Yes," she replied shyly.

"Wow, a beautiful woman who watches Doctor Who is a woman after my own heart," Sasha said.

Although it was meant in a teasing manner the energy in the Airstream changed immediately. While Sasha may have joked about the size of the trailer, right now it seemed far too small for the two of them. Suddenly the smell of lilacs was overwhelming and Sasha stopped breathing.

"I want to kiss you," he said.

"Okay."

"I won't do anything else."

"Okay."

He looked at her lips, so pink and pretty. He leaned down and pressed the softest kiss onto her mouth. Her arms reached up onto his chest, and he wasn't sure if she was trying to push him away or pull him closer.

He lifted his head and looked into her eyes, only to see desire mirrored back. She definitely hadn't been pushing him away. He kissed her again, lingering this time, and a tiny moan escaped from her. Urged on by the exquisite sounds coming from Payson, Sasha slid his tongue into her mouth. Her hands came up and tangled in his hair, and she turned his head to the side to force deeper contact. She met his tongue thrust for thrust, asserting more pressure. Her panting breath mingled with his.

He wanted to touch her. Touch all of her. But he couldn't allow himself to break his word. He had promised to stop at a kiss. And if he didn't stop now, he was afraid he never would.

Sasha pulled away, "No more for tonight," he said more roughly than he intended.

Payson raised her fingers to trace the lines of her swollen pink lips, "I like kissing you."

_It's like she's trying to torture me_, Sasha thought.

"I like kissing you too, but I better get you home." Sasha grabbed the car keys off of the counter.

"Okay," Payson paused and then continued. "I had a nice time tonight; maybe we could go out again." She added shyly.

"I'm counting on it."

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TBC


End file.
